Building Bridges of Hope in Upper Egypt

Dr. Bahaa Helmy Writes:

Upper Egypt, which extends – from south of Giza to Aswan and Halayeb and Shalateen in the south – lived for decades in isolation and estrangement from the homeland.

Previous governments since the sixties of the last century followed policies of discrimination and exclusion towards the governorates of Upper Egypt, estimated at a third of Egypt’s governorates and population, in light of the absence of the strategic dimension of Egyptian national security.

The governorates of Upper Egypt fell out of the state’s calculations and strategies and its economic development plans, which increased the extent of poverty, disease and illiteracy, the low level of services and utilities and the weakness of the level of care.

This led to the spread of a spirit of frustration, despair and loss of hope among a broad sector of the youth of the Upper Egypt governorates, and made them fertile ground for spreading ideas of ignorance and a spirit of hatred and hostility towards the other.

Many young people turned to violent extremism in many Upper Egypt governorates, especially the governorates of Minya and Assiut, at a time when emigration rates increased along with the increase in incidents and terrorist operations, which began with sticks and chains and then developed into using all the methods and means of violence that the Islamic State organization (ISIS) later followed.

Then we saw the attack on the Assiut Security Directorate during the Eid prayer in 1981 and the martyrdom of many police personnel, and I was a witness to those events by virtue of my responsibility and work at the time.

The Islamic groups grew arrogant and their power grew, and the Brotherhood penetrated deep into Upper Egypt, and they plotted the assassination of the leader Anwar Sadat, the hero of war and peace, who died a martyr; the police confronted those operations with all courage and thought, until many members of those groups declared their repentance and their return to reason and true religion.

However, they left us a legacy of the genes of the ideology of violence and ignorance that persists in the mentality of some citizens of Upper Egypt.

The presidential attention to Upper Egypt came after the 30 June 2013 Revolution, relying on scientific, security and strategic planning to develop Upper Egypt and provide a decent life for every citizen living on the land of Egypt, to protect national security and to preserve the cohesion of the nation and the solidarity of the national front as the first barrier against conspiracies and terrorism.

This attention and care crystallized in presenting the history and civilization of Egypt anew in a way that once again highlights the greatness and the historical, scientific and civilizational superiority of our Egyptian ancestors, in a dazzling and unprecedented display on the land of Upper Egypt that amazed the world and drew its eyes towards the new face of Egypt.

The unveiling of more than 943 building and construction projects in the governorates of Upper Egypt in the fields of roads and bridges, housing and new cities, animal production and fisheries, petroleum and natural gas, the development of informal settlements and cities, education and scientific research, supply, culture and the arts, places of worship, information technology, tourism and antiquities, health, industry, youth and sports, electricity and renewable energy, hospitals, fever hospitals, health laboratories and coronavirus testing, in addition to recreation areas, water resources and irrigation, drinking water and sanitation, transport and communications and other projects completed on the ground, is unprecedented in the history of nations.

The details of all these projects are published on the “Egypt Projects Map” website and page on the internet.

These achievements represent a thought, faith and conviction on the part of the political leadership of the importance of achieving equality and justice and providing a decent life for Egyptians without discrimination; they also reveal to us the depth of thought and analysis of the lessons learned for building a solid and cohesive national society to protect the land, the people, the Nile and history, take pride in civilization and hold fast to religious and moral values.

The achievements in Upper Egypt represent laying the foundation stone for rebuilding the Egyptian person in the governorates of Upper Egypt and developing their spirit of loyalty and belonging; it is the most prominent battle to remove the spirit of frustration and despair, redraw the map, inaugurate a road of hope and move to positive thinking, the feeling of happiness and optimism, the shift to creativity and holding fast to living on the land of the homeland. And for the governorates of Upper Egypt to become a green oasis of thought, creativity and production.

It is a beginning for the launching of dreams, the achievement of ambitions and the development of national awareness among our people in the governorates of Upper Egypt in the face of the ideology of violent extremism, and for confronting the conspiracies of chaos and strife carried by the agenda of the terrorist group in the interest of others.

We are proud to play on the strings of these great achievements.